Putin's party retains grip on Russia's State Duma
Preliminary counts point to a comfortable victory for United Russia, while the opposition was given little room to manoeuvre.
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United Russia is well ahead in the first counts in Russia's parliamentary elections. The Kremlin therefore appears set to retain its dominant position in the State Duma, although the final results are not yet known.
Elections for Russia's State Duma ran from Friday through Sunday. According to the first reports, United Russia, the party backed by President Vladimir Putin, has once again emerged convincingly as the largest force. The Central Election Commission reported turnout of 56.66 per cent at the close of voting, according to international news agencies.
The result is politically significant above all because this was the first parliamentary election since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Kremlin presented the vote as an opportunity for voters to demonstrate their support for the army, national unity and Putin's policies. The elections were held amid severe restrictions on political opponents and independent organisations.
The Duma has 450 seats. Half are allocated through nationwide party lists; the other half are elected in single-member constituencies. Alongside United Russia, the main participants were parties that vote with the Kremlin on important issues, such as the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party and New People.
The liberal Yabloko party was denied a nationwide party list. The Russian Supreme Court removed the party from the ballot last month. Some Yabloko candidates were nevertheless able to stand in individual constituencies. Many prominent anti-war politicians had previously been imprisoned, barred from taking part or left for other countries.
The elections also included voting in four Ukrainian regions that Russia annexed in 2022 but does not fully control. Voting also took place in Crimea. Ukraine calls those elections illegal and has urged other countries not to recognise the results from the occupied territories. The European Union called them a violation of international law.
There were also reports of problems with electronic voting and possible irregularities at polling stations. Russian opposition parties reported, among other things, that observers were barred and that some voting procedures did not run properly. According to Associated Press, the individual reports could not be independently verified. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe was not invited as an observer.
The initial result therefore says more about the balance of power organised by the Kremlin than about a free and equal playing field. For United Russia, the victory will probably mean that the party retains its parliamentary majority. The coming hours and days will show exactly how large that majority becomes and which parties receive the remaining seats.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- United Russia is well ahead in the preliminary counts.
- The election took place without broad participation by openly anti-war candidates.
- Voting took place in Ukrainian territories that Russia claims to have annexed.
- Ukraine and European countries dispute the result and the way the elections were organised.
Left
Arguments The result can hardly be read as a free choice about the war as long as opponents are excluded, imprisoned or forced abroad and there is no independent observation.
Values Democratic competition, human rights, transparency and international law are central.
Consequences The election may give the Kremlin domestic control, but little credible legitimacy abroad and no convincing evidence of broad support for the war.
Centre
Arguments The formal result must be awaited, but it must also be assessed against the limited political space, inadequate independent oversight and voting in occupied territories.
Values Institutional diligence, verifiable facts and a distinction between legal procedure and political legitimacy.
Consequences United Russia will probably remain dominant in government, while other countries will recognise the result only partially or not at all.
Right
Arguments The Russian government will argue that citizens were able to go to the polls despite the war and that United Russia's victory reflects continuity and national cohesion.
Values National sovereignty, order, security and Russia's right to organise its own political institutions.
Consequences The Kremlin gains a domestic mandate to continue its security and war policies and will probably portray foreign criticism as interference.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's core is confirmed by AP and Reuters. The text clearly distinguishes between preliminary indications, established electoral data and reports that have not been independently confirmed.
- confirmed Russia's parliamentary elections ran from Friday through Sunday and were the first since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. — AP and Reuters describe the three-day vote and identify it as the first parliamentary election since 2022. source
- confirmed Turnout was 56.66 per cent, according to the Russian election commission. — Associated Press gives this percentage as the turnout reported by the Central Election Commission. source
- confirmed The Duma has 450 seats, half elected through lists and half through single-member constituencies. — AP describes the electoral system and the number of seats. source
- confirmed United Russia is well ahead in the first counts and is expected to retain its dominant position. — AP and Reuters report that United Russia is set to win the election by a wide margin and retain control of the Duma; exact final percentages were not yet known. source
- confirmed Yabloko was removed from the nationwide party list and opposition parties reported problems involving observers. — AP describes Yabloko's exclusion and reports by Yabloko and the Communist Party. source
- confirmed Ukraine and the EU dispute the legality of voting in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. — AP reports Ukraine's rejection and the EU's characterisation of the vote as a violation of international law. source
Editor's note
The preliminary political outcome and the electoral context were confirmed by AP and Reuters. Final percentages and the distribution of seats were not yet available at the time of writing; reports of irregularities have not all been independently verified.Sources
- Russia wraps up first wartime parliamentary election — Associated Press
- Russia votes in wartime election as drones strike Moscow — Reuters
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